Crutch



J ly 18, 1950 F. J. REDCLIFFE 2,51 1 8 CRUTCH Filed March 19, 1946 INVENTOR.

Fredericii J We Patented July 18,1950

* UNITEDiii-STATES PATENT ore-Ice I Frederick J. Redcliffe, New York, N. Y.; Arthur F. Thomas, executor of said Frederick John Redcliife, deceased, assignor of one-half to Enos Throop Geer, New York, N. Y., and onehalf to Arthur F. Thomas, Hollywood, Calif.

Application March 19, 1946, Serial No. 655,404

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to crutches for use by the lame or disabled, and particularly to crutches of the character disclosed in my Patent No. 2,398,247, dated April 9, 1946. The primary object of the present invention is to provide an article of this character which will be light in weight but of sturdy and substantial construction and have certain features of resiliency which will provide exceptional comfort during the use of the crutch.

While efforts have been made in the past to provide resilient mountings for the arm-rest portions of crutches, it has been found that various types of resilient mountings have greatly increased not only the manufacturing cost of the crutch, but the weight of the same, so that while the advantages of a resilient arm-rest have been appreciated, many structures incorporating such a feature have been found impractical for the reasons above stated as well as for numerous other reasons.

An important object therefore, of the present invention, is to provide a crutch structure in which a resiliently mounted arm-rest shall be employed, and the arrangement and mounting of the co-operating parts shall be such that not only will a light-weight construction result, but one which can be economically manufactured and sold.

These and other objects are accomplished by the invention, a more particular description of which will hereinafter appear and be set forth in the claim appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the upper end or arm-rest portion of a crutch, constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; Fig. 3 is a side view with parts in section, and Fig. 4 i a top plan view of the upper end of the crutch.

The crutch constructed in accordance with the invention, includes a leg I which can be made of ma, or of light-weight tubular metal, and is secured at its upper end in a boss 3 provided on the head 2 of the crutch. Screws 4, rivets or other equivalent fastening elements, may be employed to attach the leg I securely in the boss 3.

The head 2 may be constructed of any suitable material such as wood or metal, and can preferably be in the form of a light-weight metal casting. In the form shown, it is of fork shape, and includes the two vertical, parallel and spacedapart arms 5 and 6, each of which is extended outwardly and rounded at its top, substantially as shown at l.

Extending between the two arms 5 and 6 and vertically movable relatively to the same, is the arm-rest 8. The same consists of a base plate 9 suitably padded and covered by leather or any other protecting medium. At each of its ends the arm rest is bifurcated, as indicated at l3, thus providing the lug portions I 4 which embrace the arms 5 and 6. This arrangement is such that the arm-rest can smoothly ride up and down with a vertical movement, but will be restrained against any pivotal movement about a vertical axis yet can tilt to a certain extent such as when the crutch is swung forwardly in walking.

The underside of the plate 9 is provided with a recess H] which constitutes a seat for the upper end of a coil spring I! which has its lower end resting upon a seat l2 formed in the top portion of the head 2. The spring thus provided, constitutes a resilient mounting for the arm-rest, so that when the weight of the user is imposed upon the arm-rest, the arm rest may descend and compress the spring the desired extent and afford comfort to the user of the crutch.

It will be observed that with the arrangement disclosed, the parts employed in the crutch are relatively few, with the result that the weight of the device may be kept at a minimum and a great deal of comfort will be afforded to the user.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the structure without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the shape of the forked armrest support or head may be materially changed; instead of one spring being used for the support of the arm rest, a plurality of springs might be used; the open sides of the arm-rest support can be enclosed with a flexible material, and numerous other changes are possible, as contemplated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

A crutch having a leg, a forked member at the upper end of the leg, said member having a pair of vertically-disposed spaced arms flared outwardly at their upper extremities, an arm-rest in the form of a horizontally-disposed padded element extending between the arms, the flared upper ends of the arms normally rising above the top of the arm rest, the opposite ends of the arm rest being inwardly slotted with the arms of the forked member fitting in said slots and being guided thereby but permitting a limited tilting movement of the arm rest, and a coil spring located substantially centrally of the arm-rest and 3 above the vertical axis of the leg and resiliently resisting depression of the arm rest but permitting the tilting movement thereof.

FREDERICK J. REDCLIFFE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date MeGrain Jan. 26, 1892 Michel Jan. 28, 1919 Kistler Feb. 3, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 15, 1915 

